Kiritani-san wore a troubled expression as he muttered that whether or not to immediately hire employees who held the Armed Exploration Permit for Special Underground Structures was a matter that required serious consideration. An aggressive move involving high risk, or a cautious one prepared to fall behind... Well, those kinds of policies were for Kiritani-san and his team to agonize over. It wasn’t our place to interfere.
Since the conversation was starting to drift, Yuji gave a light cough to clear his throat and brought the discussion back to the original topic.
"Please discuss those matters with your team. If you ask us, we can offer some advice, but we really can't overstep by dictating company policy."
"Haha, you're right. I'll consult with the rest of the company on this matter later. We lack enough information right now, and it doesn't seem like a problem we can find an answer to so quickly."
"Then, I'll pick up where we left off. Since we've finished the explanation for Earth Magic, I'll explain Wind Magic next."
"Ah, please do."
Yuji continued his technical breakdown of the skills.
"Wind Magic is, quite literally, magic that manipulates the wind. Since we’re using it for tunnel construction, I think you can guess the general utility."
"If it's for tunnel construction, I assume it would be for ventilation?"
"That's right. The tunnel we dug for the verification today wasn't very long, so it wasn't an issue, but if excavation continues for dozens of meters, workers will face oxygen deficiency. It’s a necessity. Also, depending on the skill user's proficiency, they can manipulate the airflow within the tunnel to efficiently exhaust construction dust to the outside."
"The fact that ventilation is possible without installing fixed equipment is encouraging," Yuta-san noted. "In undeveloped land, just bringing in generators to run ventilation facilities is a huge ordeal. To keep them running, you have to transport massive amounts of fuel regularly."
In such difficult locations, an explorer can operate with essentially just their own body. The cost of transporting equipment, rental fees, maintenance costs... The more remote the area, the more cases there would be where hiring a skill-holding explorer would actually be the more cost-effective option.
Of course, to keep this system functioning throughout a long construction project, you'd need to hire two or three explorers with the skill to rotate shifts...
"However, as always, it depends on the caliber of the skill holder. Please understand that it’s not a task just anyone can handle simply because they have the corresponding skill," Yuji cautioned.
"Understood. I suppose it’s best to treat it the same as any other qualification or license. If you have two people with the same driver’s license—one with a beginner mark and one who has been driving for years—there’s a world of difference in their technique and familiarity."
"Yes, that's exactly how you should look at it. While some rare individuals might master a skill immediately after acquiring it, they’re the minority. It would be a safer choice to hire someone who has had some time to practice since they acquired the skill."
"I suppose so, but there’s always the 'natural genius' type... It would be a shame to overlook such talented individuals."
A talented but rare "one-of-a-kind" or someone average but reliable... it was a difficult choice. However...
"A high-level explorer could use their raw stats to brute-force their proficiency up in a short period," Yuji added. "But explorers ranging from beginners to the lower end of mid-level have no choice but to put in the days to increase their proficiency. Given the current average level of explorers, you can basically equate the days since acquisition with their skill level. Even if a low-level explorer had outstanding technique, their physical specs would make it difficult for them to sustain skill use for long periods."
Being low-level also meant having low EP. If they quit being an active explorer to take a desk job and stopped leveling up, their usage limit would remain restricted. No matter how high their technique, if they could only contribute for a fraction of the workday, their value as an employee would be questionable.
Therefore, while hiring a large number of skill-holders might work, a site that relied on a small team of explorers to finish a project quickly likely couldn't afford to hire low-level workers.
"...When you put it that way, it’s true that high technique alone isn't enough to justify a hire. If they're going to replace equipment, we need enough endurance for them to use the skill throughout the shift. Naturally, I intend to hire multiple explorers with the necessary skills for a real project, but in the event of an accident, I’d want even a single person to be able to support the site for a while."
"If the ventilation stops, the oxygen runs out... that's a matter of life and death. I think it’s best to be very cautious there," Yuji said.
"It seems we’ll need to establish some kind of test before hiring these explorers."
How many times can they use it? How long can they sustain it? What is their actual level of technique? It would be vital to grasp these details. Confirming specs beforehand was essential for both the employee and the company.
Once the discussion on Wind Magic reached a natural stopping point, Yuji moved on to the next skill.
"Next, regarding the Cleansing skill. As the name implies, it allows the user to 'cleanse' a designated target. We have this skill as well, and it’s incredibly useful during dungeon exploration."
"Cleansing, huh... What kind of grime can it remove?"
"We mainly use it in dungeons, so we haven't tested it on general household stains much. Is it alright if I just share what I know?"
"Of course. In fact, this is a great opportunity to hear about the practical feel of the skill from an actual user."
Hearing that, I wondered if it was really okay to be completely honest. The primary reason explorers used Cleansing in a dungeon was... well, it was a bit gruesome.
However, since he couldn't stay silent, Yuji took a breath and, bracing himself for the likely disgust of ordinary people, began to explain.
"I see. Well, it might not be common, but the most frequent 'dirt' explorers remove with Cleansing in the dungeon is... monster blood spray and the grease that gets on our weapons."
"...Pardon?"
"As I said—monster blood and weapon grease."
"Uhm..."
Kiritani-san and Yuta-san looked completely repulsed. They were at a total loss for words. Well, it certainly wasn't the kind of "dirt" a normal person would imagine first.
Yuji gave a wry smile at the expected reaction and elaborated. If he didn't explain, it might lead to a weird misunderstanding.
"You're aware that explorers defeat monsters to obtain drop items, right?"
"Ah, yes, of course."
"When you fight a monster with a weapon, you're going to get covered in blood unless you're exceptionally clean with your kills. Basically, monsters turn into particles and vanish when they die, but anything that adheres to the explorer or their gear does not vanish. If you're sloppy, you end up soaked from head to toe."
Ugh...
At Yuji's explanation, Kiritani-san and Yuta-san looked genuinely sick as they visualized the scene. Fortunately, we've never been in a situation that bad, but many explorers have probably experienced it once or twice.
"That's why the Dungeon Association Branch Offices have facilities like shower rooms. Even in the early days of the public release, they had coin-operated showers, even if they were simple."
"Now that you mention it," I added, "back then I often saw explorers covered in blood... Nowadays, I only occasionally see newcomers in that state."
"Lately, strategies for every monster are researched and shared," Yuji said. "If you do your homework and prepare, you rarely end up blood-soaked. Besides, the Association started a paid Cleansing service recently. You can get cleaned up the second you leave the dungeon. Unless they're a newcomer with no money, you don't really see blood-stained explorers in public anymore."
The three of us grimaced as we recalled those days. The Association's Cleansing service utilized personnel with the skill. Apparently, it was introduced because people complained that blood-soaked explorers walking through the facilities were disturbing, and there were even reports of complaints from residents near city dungeons about the smell of blood. On top of that, cleaning bloodstains off Association furniture was a nightmare. Nowadays, if you walk through an Association facility while looking like a horror movie extra, you’ll get hit with some very judgmental stares.
It was another example of how manners and standards had evolved in the years since the dungeons were opened to the public.
"...I-I see. I can certainly see why the Cleansing skill would be valued in that environment."
"Yes, nowadays every team wants at least one person with the Cleansing skill. Though, since the skill itself is a rare drop item, it's usually only mid-level explorers and above who can afford it. You might find a lucky beginner with it once in a while, though."
"I see... So mid-level explorers are the most likely candidates. So, besides bloodstains, how powerful is the Cleansing skill? If possible, I’d love to know how it handles more common stains."
"With normal dirt, things like food or drink spills, sweat stains, and dust come off perfectly. However, I haven't tried it on things like fuel or machine oil, which are common at construction sites, so I can't say for sure."
Industrial stains are stubborn once they set in, and removing them manually is a huge chore. Fortunately or unfortunately, we hadn't encountered that kind of grime yet, so we didn't know the skill's limits.
"If we're going to use this for construction, that's exactly the kind of information we need," Kiritani-san said. "Cleaning and laundry take up a significant amount of time and money. If an explorer with the Cleansing skill can solve that, it would drastically reduce overhead."
"In that case, I'll try it out soon... Oh, but maybe another explorer has already tested it and posted the info online? It's not exactly a top-secret skill."
"Ah, you're right. It’s a skill that's officially utilized by the Association. There might be a database of what it can remove."
"Let’s check the web before we do our own tests. If the info is already out there, we'd just be wasting time."
Collecting various types of industrial sludge sounded like a hassle anyway. If someone else had already done the work, that was good enough for us.
We did a quick search to see what the internet had to say about the skill’s limits...
"It looks like Cleansing removes almost anything. It even says it can be used for dental whitening by removing plaque... Is that for real?"
"Who knows? Oh, but look—it says it doesn't work on the black stains from mold. Maybe because mold is a microorganism, it doesn't count as 'dirt'?"
"It’s a surprisingly versatile skill. It seems such a waste that we’d only ever used it to clean off dungeon grime. Of course, the range and effectiveness still depend on proficiency."
The unexpected applications of the Cleansing skill were a revelation. I was reminded once again that any skill can become a game-changer depending on how you apply it.
The search results clearly piqued Kiritani-san’s interest in the skill's utility.
"If we’re going to hire explorers for construction, I definitely want at least one person with this skill at every site. Just one person could eliminate all those tedious cleaning tasks."
"But Kiritani-san," Yuji pointed out. "Again, it comes down to usage limits. If you want one person to handle all the cleaning for an entire work site, they'd need to be at least a mid-level explorer to have the EP for it."
"...In that case, if we're hiring specifically for skill use, it might be better to focus exclusively on mid-level explorers. Having a great skill is meaningless if the employee can't sustain the workload."
"The hiring cost will be higher than for low-level explorers, but if the skills are the priority, that’s the better path. Of course, you could hire a low-level explorer with the skill and train them up, but..."
Most people who retired as explorers at a low level to take a job wouldn't have much motivation to go back to the dungeon and level up just because the company told them to. If they were forced to do it as a company order... well, that’s how you end up with accidents, resignations, or lawsuits.
If the skills were the main selling point, it was safer to hire established mid-level explorers from the start.
Low-level explorers for their physical strength, and mid-level explorers for their skills... That seemed to be the emerging model.